Here we are again Mr. Dickens. Of the three books of his on the list David Copperfield is the only one where I haven’t seen any sort of adaptation. It made for a different read since, withBleak House, I could retreat into thinking of Gillian Anderson, Denis Lawson or Burn Gorman. It was a different experience to try and do my own internal world-building with a Dickens novel.

Now what do I want to say about David Copperfield? One thing that I read before I started on this book is that it is partially autobiographical. It becomes apparent very quickly that David is Dickens.

I know this is a classic and all that jazz, but David Copperfield really does fall into that autobiographical trap of making the character of David Copperfield whiter than white. I mean, Dickens can create some amazing characters but David is too honourable, too nice and just a bit of a wet blanket. Honestly, when I got to long passages of David’s train of thought I just skim read in order to get to something a bit more interesting.

And here’s the thing, David Copperfield is an incredibly interesting and varied book. It takes a look at the life of a man who overcame quite a lot (albeit not as much as the average Victorian) and ends up with true love, true friends and a good position in life.

It just bugs me that one of the main reasons for him finally making his way through is down to having a relative with money. Sure, some of the big leaps are down to Copperfield’s attention and social skills, but the only reason he doesn’t end up dying in a workhouse is thanks to his aunt. Don’t get me wrong I love his aunt; she’s spunky, outspoken and very defensive when donkeys attack her patch of green… but it rang false that he was able to walk to her house in Kent despite never actually meeting her. Artistic license I guess.

Being a Dickens novel he really does deal with the societal darkness of his time. People going to prison to debt, domestic abuse, drownings, all types of death and major characters emigrating to Australia because that’s all they can hope for. And yes despite the incredible darkness at the hands of Mr Murdstone and Uriah Heep, David Copperfield is ultimately an uplifting read. It’s hard not to smile when characters like Mr Dick and Miss Mowcher are around.

So yea, with David Copperfield crossed off I have now read the 10 longest books of this list. I am in two minds as to whether I should continue going down the line from longest to shortest or to give myself license to jump around a bit more. I guess the question is: do I read Middlemarch, To Kill A Mockingbird or The Handmaid’s Tale next?